For the past month rain has teased central and southern Illinois, leaving farmers in desperation and the economy hanging in the balance.

Charleston has not seen significant rainfall since June 18. Meanwhile floods invaded the northern part of the state.

If the dryness continues here, it could prove a rough harvesting season for area farmers, said Mark Phelan, manager of the Coles County Farm Bureau.

“We’re hurting pretty bad,” he said.

According to the National Weather Service, the chance of rain in Charleston will stay at about 30 percent through Tuesday night and is expected to remain warm, in the upper 70s, through the weekend.

The corn crop is being hit especially hard, Phelan said, because with corn, timeliness of rain is crucial to the pollination process. A critical time for rain is during the month of July when corn is being pollinated.

However, central Illinois is not as badly off as points south, which are more dry, or areas to the north, where abundant rains have flooded areas, which Phelan said is just as bad as a drought.

The next month will tell all, Phelan said, when farmers will begin to harvest the corn and assess how much they have produced according to the average, or yield.

If the drought continues, farmers will have to harvest earlier than they would like, otherwise the corn could become too dry.

If rains come through, Phelan said farmers will be out harvesting in about a month.

Right now, however, farmers are feeling a lot of anxiety, Phelan said, and are trying to “hurry up and get ready.”

Because farmers are not sure whether rains will come, they are hurrying to prepare harvest equipment so they will be ready when the need to harvest comes.

The economy is one direct impact of poor corn produce and has already seen prices climbing fast. If this trend continues it will “drastically,” affect the economy, Phelan said.

Although there is still average amounts of corn growing now, Phelan said the next month will tell how much is produced – therein, how much prices will increase.

Phelan said there is a 50 percent chance of an entire crop failure, but that chance stays true every year until crops are harvested.